1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of workflow servers. More specifically, the present invention relates to an XML user interface used in a workflow server.
2. The Background
In computing, workflow is the automatic routing of documents or information to users responsible for working on them. It is generally concerned with providing the information required to support each step of a business cycle to the users responsible for working on them, in a proper format. It is also generally concerned with step-by-step processes, as opposed to simple information sharing, which is more often associated with workgroup, or groupware, systems.
A workflow server (WFS) is often used as the backbone of a workflow system. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical workflow system. As the Internet gains acceptance as an integral part of any business or service, it is becoming more common for users to request information using a browser. The WFS 2 receives requests in the form of formatted strings from a browser 4. A request received from a browser is usually passed to an Application Request Server (ARS) 6, which converts the request into a formatted message and passes it to a Workflow Engine 8 for processing. The WFS is generally linked a database 10, which stores the workflow information. The Workflow Engine 10 then retrieves data from the database 10 and passes to the ARS 6. The ARS 6 may then create a browser readable page using the data and pass it back to the browser 4 for display by the user.
This design, however, has several drawbacks. The user interface for allowing users to make requests is limited by the transaction processing capabilities hard-coded into the ARS 6. Thus, how the ARS 6 handles requests is hard-coded and static. The content of the browser readable page returned by the ARS 6 is also limited by how the ARS 6 is designed and coded. Both these aspects are not easily changeable after the ARS is developed, delivered, and operational. Users who wish to execute a feature of the WFS that is not already handled by the ARS will have to contact the developer of the ARS to add that feature into the application.
What is needed is a design which allows users to easily modify these types of functions without requiring the ARS to be changed.